Formula E: Marrakesh E-Prix 2022 - Race

The Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team ended the tenth round of the 2021/22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship with two points-scoring finishes: Nyck de Vries and Stoffel Vandoorne fought their way up into sixth and eighth place respectively after a tricky qualifying.

• Stoffel and Nyck finished tenth and fifth in their respective qualifying groups and as a result, did not manage to make it through to the knock-out stages of qualifying
• Nyck started the race from ninth place and moved up into P7 early on in the race. He took the checkered flag in P6 as the 34-lap race ended.
• Stoffel was in P20 for the start of the Marrakesh E-Prix and gained no less than twelve positions during the race after going on a strong charge. He finally managed to score valuable points in both World Championships with a P8 finish.
• The race was won by Edoardo Mortara (Venturi Racing) in the Mercedes-EQ Silver Arrow 02.
• Mortara (139 points) leads the Drivers' World Championship by eleven points from Jean-Eric Vergne (128 points). Stoffel (125 points) is another three points behind in third place. Nyck (73 points) is in seventh place.
• Venturi Racing (205 points) leads the Team Championship after the tenth round of the season ahead of DS Techeetah (203 points). The Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team (198 points) dropped back to third place.
• The next two rounds of the 2021/22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship will take place in New York on 16 and 17 July 2022.

Nyck de Vries:

"A double points-scoring finish is good when you consider where we started on the grid. From that point of view, it wasn't such a bad day for us, but of course, we always want to do better. I think there was a bit more potential today, but at the same time, you have to take the points when and where you can. Looking at the bigger picture and considering the weekend as a whole, this was by no means a poor result for the team."

Stoffel Vandoorne:

"I don't know quite what to think. I'm torn two ways. On the one hand, I'm frustrated, because we would have been much further up the grid had it not been for our problems in qualifying. And yet, I have to bear in mind that we managed to limit the damage once again, coming from the back of the grid. But in my opinion, the main thing is that you just can't leave anything on the table. We've been struggling with the brakes since practice, but it was still manageable. However, it got a lot worse during qualifying and it was just impossible to post a lap. We simply can't afford that, especially not in a World Championship where every single point counts. It was all about scoring one, two or as many points as we could in the race. If ever there was a race where that was possible, it was this one, with the heat, the tyres, the power management and everything associated with that. I certainly think that we achieved the maximum with P8 after starting out in P20!"

Ian James, Team Principal:

"If I would have to describe this weekend in two words, I'd probably use quite a cliché: damage limitation. We came to Marrakesh hoping to improve on our qualifying performance of late but failed to put ourselves in a position to capitalise on that. That meant that we very much put ourselves on the back foot. Obviously, the incident in FP1 didn't help in Nyck's case. We will go back and look at how we can try and ensure that, going forward, we can manage the package in a way that puts us in a better position.

With regards to the race, we knew that we had a huge amount of ground to make up if we were to get back into the points. Nyck did a very solid job of making sure that we claimed 6th position after some spirited driving from his side. Stoffel showed his race-craft, coming from 20th to finish in P8. So, a tough weekend all in all. We come away from Marrakesh with some points but obviously, we have given ourselves a challenge moving forward as we head off to New York.

Over the past couple of years, we as a team have suffered from a bit of a mid-season slump. It's obviously not a position we like to find ourselves in. I don't see that as a reason to worry though. The quality of the team, the calibre of the women and men who work within the team is such that we can quickly pull ourselves out of difficult situations. That gives me cause for optimism as we head into the last 6 races of the season.

Of course, a massive congratulations to Venturi - and especially Edo - a masterful drive. Incredible to see a Mercedes-Benz powered car on the top step of the podium yet again."